\The Psychology of Mountain Biking
Michael J. Vandeman, Ph.D.
January 24, 2000
"Violence does not live alone and is not capable of living alone: I is
necessarily interwoven with falsehood. Between them lies the most
intimate, the deepest of natural bonds. Violence finds its only refuge
in falsehood. … Any man who has once acclaimed violence as his method
must inexorably choose falsehood as his principle." Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn
For a psychologist, mountain biking is a fascinating phenomenon.
Lying
The first thing one notices about mountain bikers is that they
lie continually! For someone from my generation, raised to tell the
truth at all times, this is puzzling. Surely, they must know that
everyone, at least all those who aren't mountain bikers, can easily
see through them! For example, Oakland Councilwoman Nancy Nadel caught
Eric Muhler, President of the Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay,
publicly claiming that mountain biking in Joaquin Miller Park has
caused hardly any erosion! One look at Alec Karp's photographs of the
park is all it would take to know that he was lying. Similarly, the
vice president of ROMP ("Responsible Organized Mountain Pedalers"),
Patty Ciesla, was caught red-handed building an illegal trail.
Their favorite lie, of course, is that land managers who ban
off-road biking are banning mountain bikers. Actually, it is only
their bikes that are banned! It would be impossible to ban mountain
bikers even if we wanted to, since they don't look different from
anyone else.
And they aren't doing their already rotten image much good. Since none
of them ever admit lying, we can only guess at their motivation. The
best that I have been able to come up with is that they don't believe
that they can justify their selfish, destructive sport except by
lying. Well, … yes, of course! Since mountain biking destroys wildlife
habitat, drives away wildlife and other trail users, and benefits only
the mountain bikers, it is hard to see how anyone can justify allowing
mountain biking in any natural area.
Similarly, it is hard to explain why land managers lie so frequently,
when asked why they allow mountain biking. For example, a ranger at
China Camp State Park told me that mountain biking is causing "no
erosion". An equestrian familiar with the park then told me that the
bikers were "turning the trails into powder"! I guess that the land
managers are afraid to admit that they have allowed political pressure
-- or, in some cases, free trail maintenance provided by the mountain
bikers -- to cloud their better judgment.
Mountain Biking as an Addiction
Recently I suddenly realized why this pattern seemed so
familiar: they act exactly like the drug addicts that I knew when I
worked with Synanon Foundation! They demonstrate the same willingness
to take enormous risks, just to continue their "habit". They risk
their image, their job, their relationships, their freedom, even their
life, just to continue seeking the ultimate "high". Many subscribe to
mountain biking mailing lists at work, risking losing their job.
Thousands risk arrest and fines for riding illegally or even building
illegal trails on public and private land. The "Sedona Five" took
advantage of a temporary closure of Grand Canyon National Park to ride
down the North Kaibab Trail, which is closed to bikes (and got
arrested). Taking serious risks to continue a habit of doubtful value
is the best indicator of a true addiction. In mountain biking
newsgroups they exchange stories about their latest "high" (riding
"sweet singletrack"), with extra points given for experiences that
were dangerous, illegal, or both.
When caught riding on trails closed to bikes, in my
experience, they lie ("I didn't know it is closed" -- but they don't
offer to leave!), threaten ("I'm going to bust your head"), and even
physically attack whoever tells them to leave the closed area (one
biker rode back up the trail, turned around, and then rode into the
guy who had told him the trail is closed, as fast as he could,
knocking him bloody). That is a lot of risk to take, just in order to
ride one trail illegally! And a good sign that they are addicted.
Indeed, many of them, in their discussions on the Internet, describe
mountain biking as an "addiction".
Mountain Biking as an Image Enhancer
Another psychological factor, of course, is the image boost
that the sport and its accoutrements give to rebellious young people,
just as racing bikes did for an earlier generation (hardly any of whom
actually raced!). The knobby tires and "hardened" frames clearly say
"I'm tough. Don't cross me!" The names attached to the bikes and tires
("Velociraptor", "Omega-Bite", "Incisor") reinforce that image, as do
the photos in mountain bike magazines of bikers flying through the air
(getting "big air"). These bikes are clearly intended to indicate that
they will help you "conquer nature" (while, ironically, actually
insuring that you will have even less contact with that nature, due to
their speed, lack of contact with the ground, and suspension
systems!).
Narcissism
Closely related to image is their narcissism: they apparently
have no awareness of, or interest in, the welfare or feelings of the
wildlife and people around them. Hikers who are young or elderly, and
are afraid of being hit, are ignored or termed "unreasonable". People
who say that they go to parks to experience peace and tranquility, and
to get away from all signs of civilization, are called "selfish".
Mountain bikers want to ride on trails that are as narrow as possible
-- exactly the trails that are too narrow to accommodate both bikers
and other trail users!
Cognitive Dissonance
Yet another factor explaining their insistence on biking at
all costs, even at the risk of getting arrested, is embodied in the
psychological term "Cognitive Dissonance": after spending often more
than $3000 for their bike, it would be very embarrassing and
upsetting if they had nowhere to ride it!
Perhaps this explains why, after years of talking about how
they are going to put an end to the erosion damage, illegal riding,
and illegal trail building in Joaquin Miller Park, the mountain bikers
are continuing all of those activities unabated.
Monomania
All land management plans are evaluated by a single criterion:
do they provide "sweet" (attractive), "technical" (difficult to ride)
"singletrack" (narrow trails)? The President could be about to
designate a million acres of new wilderness, but they don't care. All
they care about is "will I be allowed to mountain bike there?" (in
wilderness, no).
Laziness
Why ride a bike, when you can walk? Only because you can get
to your destination a lot faster and with a lot less energy. In spite
of their muscular, "hard-body" appearance, mountain bikers are lazy!
Bad Role Modelling
Mountain biking also provides very bad role modeling for our children.
Whether or not a bike is ever ridden off-road, any child looking at
one will get the impression that it is used to tear up wildlife
habitat, and that this is okay.
Paradox
Mountain bikers claim to want just what we all want -- the
experience of nature in all her pristine glory. However, the very fact
that they ride on a bike denies them that experience! They move too
fast to truly experience what they are seeing. They have to pay
attention to their "driving", to avoid crashing. They are insulated
from feeling the ground by distance, tires, and expensive suspension
systems. And they (in common with other trail users, of course,
although to a much greater degree) destroy nature in the very act of
"appreciating" it.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)
Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are
fond of!
http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande
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